A snap election in Aotearoa. It’s time
by Christopher von Roy
August 5, 2013
'Beware of the words "internal security" for they are the eternal cry of the oppressor'
Voltaire
It has happened before in this country. For far lesser crimes. Once in 1951, again in 1984 and most recently in 2002.
According to the NZ constitution, it is the prime minister who mandates/calls for the snap election. Which is bizarre,
especially when, as in this case, they are the culprits under investigation. But there exists a loophole - if enough MPs
stand up in parliament and request it, it can be instigated without the prime minister's prior approval.
John Key broke the law. He lied to the New Zealand people and now it looks like he's going to get away with it when the
GCSB bill passes (as the bill confers him retroactive immunity.)
Richard Nixon resigned after spying on a couple of elected officials (whose vocation demands them to be in the public
eye) – now, nearly 40 years later, John Key has authorised the spying of 88 New Zealanders (private citizens) - hereby
he not only broke New Zealand law but also violated the International Human Rights Charter. Hence the NZ Law society is
presenting their case to the UN in Geneva.
As a response to the Ed Snowden whistleblowing, the United States congress is now voting on a bill that would slash the
NSA’s current budget in half, effectively ending PRISM (which NZ is complicit in) and all other global monitoring
activities of Internet usage and narrowing these down to just the top suspects under investigation (‘sensible spying’).
How can it be that at the exact same time, John Key and National are attempting to push a bill through parliament (under
urgency!) that would increase the funding and investigative power of some secret police force (GCSB, our own version of
the NSA) that reports directly to the prime minister. We don’t need two police forces in this country! And certainly not
one that reports directly to our prime minister. Checks and Balances people. Dictators are people who align themselves
with their own police force, not democratically elected leaders of a sovereign “developed” nation. No sir, that does not
happen in the 21st century.
I don't mind being spied on. In fact I am an exhibitionist at heart anyway, so I kind of get off on the fact that
someone else is reading my scribbles (along the lines of “I don’t write poetry to put it in a drawer”). What I don't
like is elected officials getting away with breaking the law and lying to their people. All we need is one more major
earthquake for all of this to be buried and go away (pun intended, sorry). The overt smugness and arrogance of the
National Party has infected all of New Zealand's institutions already - it is very palpable. Let’s not let them get away
with this.
The most recent comment about Al Qaeda suspects training in Yemen for operations in New Zealand is the proverbial straw
that broke camel's back - all ecological negligence and economic manhandling by our current government aside, the
comment about Al Qaeda has actually damaged NZ's reputation overseas, possibly irrevocably. By stating this John Key has
inadvertently brought NZ into this nasty war on terror and in doing so, has not only damaged our image but also
threatened the country's security.
Sorry but we don't have to put up with this.
Traditionally in a snap election, you vote on two things, one on the no confidence in the current government and two, on
a substitute government to replace the existing one.
A Labour/Green coalition led by Jacinda Ardern could be the change we are looking for. Bring this country back to its
senses and identify what's important to us, namely that we are not NZ Ltd, a corporation with legal obligations to
increase profits and grow - but rather that we are a collection of communities - each with their own unique needs and
motivations - who would be best off, voting on things that matter to them, on a local level and focusing on localisation
above all else – taking environmental and ecological considerations when voting on any given subject (and certainly not
handing out our country to deep sea oil drillers and overseas mining speculators who are in for a quick buck and don’t
have New Zealand’s best interests at heart.)
Now that would be real change.
I think we could bring in UN observers to watch the snap election - we're not quite Zimbabwe. But we're getting there.
The repercussions of this GCSB bill coupled to the slightly racist and elitist stance of our present government, could
result in CCTV cameras being placed in all Maori homes (and the National Party rationalising that this by stating that,
statistically speaking, Maori are 4 times more likely to abuse their children than Pakeha - a disgrace based on
socioeconomic disparity and nothing else, but still, that's how these guys think). This is just one nightmare scenario
that could unfold if we don’t get rid of these guys in time. There are hundreds of others that could eventuate.
Wake up Tangata Whenua and grab hold of your civic courage and duties – it is not only your right but also your moral
obligation as citizens of this great country.
We don’t have until 2014 to take back our rights. Let’s do this. Now.
Maui Ora!
Ways to action:
Come on New Zealand. Write to your local MPs. Get them to call for a vote of no confidence. Geoff Thorn (Head of NZ
parliamentary services) has just resigned in light of this fiasco, he’s your bonafide patsy. In your emails, just simply
write:
"I have no confidence in the current New Zealand government and believe that they are misappropriating their powers and
infringing upon my human rights as protected in our constitution and called for the in the United Nations International
Human Rights Charter. I call upon you to represent my voice in parliament. We are living in a democracy after all and hopefully we are not Zimbabwe."
"The third key provision is a requirement for a no confidence motion to be won by an absolute majority of all members in
order to force the Government's resignation. Known as a constructive vote of no confidence, the motion would have 2
components, an expression of no confidence in the current government together with a proposal for an alternative
Government."
A list of your local current MPs: http://www.parliament.nz/en-nz/mpp/mps/current/?Criteria.PrimaryFilter=Electorate=Go
ENDS